Travel Page

Iza's Travel Page

Welcome to Iza's Travel Page. Here is where I will be keeping a record of my travels for all of you to read. Please feel free to leave a comment for me. If I have time in between discovering new places and meeting new people I will reply to them!

Diary Entries

We landed in Sydney at 5:30AM very exhausted by a very crowded flight. Michael's seat was broken so that he could not sit upright then to top it off his table was broken and he had to anchor it with his knee. He complined but the seat that they offered was right in the middle of a row of 4 so he stayed put but vowing to send an email to Singapore Airline.

We got through Customs OK - had no idea that they now scan all incoming luggage at the "Nothing To Declare" desks. Good thing that we did not lie on our forms.

The hire car was ready so off we went - tired and a bit jet lagged. Stopped in to see Michael's Mum at 7AM - hope she realised it was us as I think it was a bit early for her.

Got home and managed to keep moving by unpacking, etc. Then off to have a massage that afternoon -slept very well that night and woke up only slightly jetlagged.

Saturday Michael got stuck into the gardening and I went to have a haircut, etc. I found it difficult to move my legs - still tired I think.

Clocks forward an hour as it is now daylight saving - will I ever stop moving forward in time like this??

Sunday woke up - no jetlag at last. We have just worked out that we have about 3000 photos between us (I took 800 and Michael the rest). We will have to be very selective regarding which we will print.

THURSDAY We must have been jetlagged as we kept falling asleep at odd times through the day so we did not do too much. We kept walking around the Mall attached to the hotel just to keep moving.

The Singapore Stopover tour agent was very Germanic and wanted us to do all these tours so that we could see Singapore however we resisted though we did go to the Changi Museum and Memorial. Sad to say that it has not changed in 16 years and I think that they could have left some of the old prison (after they built the new one) so that people could get more of a sense of what the POWs endured. We also had a tour guide whose English and thought processes we were unable to follow. At Changi Museum she left us to look through it ourselves but then at the appointed time she did not appear and the driver had to go and look for her - talk of lost tour guides rather than tourists.She was a very jolly guide of Chinese extract - Chinese, in Singapore trying to speak English to Australians - it did not always work - there is a new language in the world - Singaporeian English.She told us about the roads near the airport which can be converted to runways in times of crisis/war and she explained that she never tells this to the japs as you can't trust them. They still remember obviously what the japs did to them in WW2.

Today we both feel more human and have to face another flight - oh well, it is only 7 - 8 hours. We have got to the Airport early and are luxuriating in the Premium Lounge. Our bags were way over the weight limit and after reading us the riot act they accepted it without charging any excess baggage fee. Thank Goodness! as we were 16kgs. over. Michael has to stop turning into a shopoholic when he is on holidays, then again it is fun watching him hunt down bargains and bargaining for a good price. I only bought little things such as bits of jewellry, so I plead "not guilty" to any charges regarding the excess baggage.

At nearly every check-in I (Michael) have asked for a free upgrade business or first and I have yet to score one - but I shall keep trying.

I (Michael) got stung by a huge wasp/hornet in Turkey - at Aphrodesias. Stung like hell for a few minutes then the lower arm proceeded to swell and stay swollen for a few days. All is well now but the bite point still gets itchy at times.

(Michael) Time to unload on the bloody romans some more - those italians in rome that one meets as a tourist.We did 3 short tours with a bunch of deadheads calling themselves Appian Way Tours.We got on to them through a Qantas brochure - how silly were we to trust Qantas?Appian Line truly could not organise a booze up in a brewery.These idiots define stupidity.These turkeys define incompetence.We would be picked up from the hotel and delivered to the head office.You then had to go into the office and show someone behind a desk your tour voucher.This person would give you a bus number for your particular tour.You then went outside to find your bus - but bugger me, the buses never had any numbers displayed!!You then walked up to each bus and asked the driver. if he was in attendance, what his bus number was, and this was invariably met with a grunt - in italian though.Typically after an extended wait in the heat, destinations or numbers were finally displayed on the buses and you boarded - hooray.At the end of both the city tour and the sistine chapel tour we had to meet the bus for the return to the hotel - if boarding the buses was disorganised then this end of the tour was total chaos with no-one from Appian Line taking any initiative to organise the many buses and minibuses.These people make our CGVE students look good - in fact to mention anyone in the same sentence as "Appian Line" is to insult them.The tour organisation by Singapore Airlines Stop-Over personnel was superb - the romans need to come here and see how it is done.The romans are just like their favourite car, the Ferrari - tries hard to look good but doesn't work.As anyone reading this can tell Michael did not like the Romans. I have to make sure tht he distinguishes the Romans from the Italians and as you can gather we will not be revisiting Roma any time soon if at all Despite the bad taste it left in Michael's mouth -we did have a nice time strolling around and seeing the old ruins, building, etc. It was really a case of too many peole, too poorly, organised, too many hawkers and beggers, lack of cleaniness, and simple chaos, no wonder the Romans get put out by it all.

I am in the process of working out our next OS adventure - to the UK in 2008

Visited Gallipoli - great to see - very moving - Churchill really stuffed up there- the terrain was impossible for the troops on the lower groundLots of cemetries here - to Turks Aussies and KiwisDrove straight from here to Istanbul for two nightsTripped around Istanbul on Saturday - saw the Blue Mosque, Haggea Sophia, and the Sultan's palace (Topkapi) which has been retored as a museumThe palace has relics of Muhammad and in this room a mullah has chanted the Koran 24/7 non-stop for over 400 years!!!He looked as though he was about to fall asleep when we saw him.After 400 years on the job - not surprising.They have teh staff of Moses, the sword of David and the saucepan of Abraham on display - as if!!Nothing of Jesus - the fourth prophet.Went to the Grand Bazaar - the oldest continually operating mall in the world - 700 years non-stop!!What an exhausting experience - only 4000 shops to visit - you get hassled in a friendly way by every shop owner you pass and then you get into the haggling bit when you show any interest in buying something.Two hours there was enough.Flew to Singapore with very overweight bags - full of souvenirs for everyone - nothing of course for us!!Flew overnight on the redeye so we are tired and jetlagged - today, Wednesday, starting to feel better, and off to Changi prison this afternoon.Sat by the pool yesterday and cooled off many times in the comfortable water - very hazey here due to fires in Indonesia.We have not seen blue sky since leaving home.The pollution over here is unbelievable - John Howard and his mugs are so bloody stupid over this whole problem.

Our leisure day on Sunday was relaxing and very needed We swam in the Mediterranean and did not drown as it is very salty and therefore buoyant Now we know why so many people from Europe get into so much trouble on our beaches they dont have to be strong swimmers to keep afloat and there are no waves to speak of We could float with almost no effort and remain floating vertically with head above water with a minimal foot movementThe beach was very hard on the old tootsies as it is pebbly not just small stones but great big rocks Our hotel had a private section cordoned off and it had a boardwalk but you still had to walk the last few yards on those pebbles

we also visited one of the best museums = Antalya Museum we were able to get up close and personal with sarcophagii and statutes and lots of other artifacts from 10000 years ago

The food was great and we spent some time just sitting on the balcony drinking our coffee and taking in the view = our search for a good coffee continuesBloody nescafe machines are everywhere here and they make lousy coffee but we have taken a liking to the local apple tea

MONDAY we drove over the Taurus mountains named after MCs star sign of course and saw many nomads living in their traditional brown tents and at one we saw an old loom used to make our carpetWe see lots of horse or donkey driven carts and the country is very rural with lots of agriculture still being done the hard way by handWe see lots of gypsies working in the fields harvesting onions potatoes tomatoes cotton olives all by hand = hard work

We visited the ruins of Aphrodisias = fabulous especially as there were no other tourists there as not many visit it = the little museum was also good to see

You have to wonder how these ancients could be such poor builders as everything they have built has gone to rack and ruin after 2000 to 10000 years

Overnight in Pamukkale and we managed to recouperate from the arduous drive by swimming in the thermal pool at the hotel = the pool is fed by the natural springs = however the food was really really lousy but we could do with a night off from eatingIt is really hard to find a simple lunch such as a sandwich 0 our guide keeps taking us to these little restaurants where we are fed luke warm foodThe five star hotels also serve luke warm tucker = must be the way it is done here = sometimes we are greeted with tea and turkish delight and this tea is oftern only warm

TUESDAY visited the Cotton Castles a natural formation of pools fed by thermal springs = you can no longer bathe in them as there has been too much damage and they are the only ones left in the world = unfortunately the water is diminishing and they have to funnel the water to different sections at a time or they will go brown and form a mineral called travatine

We then went to see another bloody ruin =ABR= Hierapolis containing thousands of tombs mostly damaged in the Middle Ages by grave robbers with gun powderThese vandals were looking for valuables inthe tombs and they also took the iron from the ruins to melt down and make into guns

WEDNESDAY off to Kusadasi via a fashion show at a leather outlet = this made us worry as Michael had bought himself a coat at the Sheraton in Antalya = this was the same brand but the gods had smiled on us and the deal we got there turned out to be very goodI had tried on 200 coats over the last six months and this one was a really good fit = feels great

The rest of the day we spent at Ephesus that very large ancient town that is in all the tourist books = they are rebuilding it and it should be stunning = makes you realise how boring our architecture is = well worth seeing but I prefered Aphrodesias = the ancients had flushing toilets with marble seats but no privacy as they had to sit side by side and they used their slaves to warm up the seat before they arrived to do their businessThis place has one third open to the public one third closed for work and one third is still under the ground

THURSDAY we spent most of the day driving with a visit to the Acropolis at Pergamon the best about this was the hospital and the treatment of mental illness by blindfolding the person and getting them to walk through a tunnel with running water and priests whispering positive things to them from holes in the roof after that they stayed for a while at the hospital

On to Troy in the afternoon not much to see but interesting nevertheless = it also overlooks the DardanellesA german treasure hunter was the first to excavate here and he buggered it up = digging a trench staight through the centre looking for treasure did not find a great deal and he claimed to find the ramp up which the trojan horse was pushed into troy but the story of the horse is just a story

After five weeks on the road we are pretty clued up on the different types of plumbing and toilet systems in europe and asia = we have by far the best back in newcastle

Friday = we left the most surreal place and headed for Konya a very conservative place in a conservative country = according to the guide = along the way we got a 30 min discourse about the problem of Turkey and France = we still find it amazing no matter how many times we see it = the number of highrise apartments that seem to spring up from nowhere in the middle of nowhere = the countryside forms part of the steeps and looks like Mongolia with not a tree to be seen= the government first moves out the military and then some industry and before you know it there is a town growing out of the ground =

We stopped and saw how they make pottery = that beautiful white and cobolt blue type = the potter was good value as he had a wonderful sense of humour and could not speak a word of English but we all understood his actions on the wheel especially his work with the wet clay which took on the form of part of the male anatomy

The road from Cappodocia to Konya forms part of the old silk road and we were able to see ruins of the Caravanseri = the old inns for the caravan camel trains

We saw the tomb of the founder of the Dervish sect = not sure how whirling makes you closer to God but as our guide said everything whirls blood universe and the seasons = figure that one out = at the tomb we had to put on plastic galoshes over our shoes actually they were of light plastic = shower cap type things

Today we drove through the Taurus mountains and the scenery was spectacular = we have now travelled the highest and lowest point in Turkey = lowest point was in the underground city

Along the way we have seen the best preserved Roman theatre and it is still used today holding 12000 people and is 1800 years old = the more I see the more I realise that good design does not change the theatre looks the same as the ones we build today = they also sold tickets and you could hire cushions to make the marble seating more comfortable = they could flood a portion and use it to stage naval battles and gladiators fought lions there but they were not doing it while we were there

We then moved onto the Roman ruins and were absolutely blown away by them = took lots and lots of photos = the city dates back 2300 years = it was all covered in marble facing and they are in the process of restoring it

Our hotel here is great and we have a fantastic room facing the Mediterranean Sea and it is our first double bed for a week = It is Ramadan here and Mehmet says that the fasting is all about abstaining

We will have an easy day tomorrow and will get some laundry done as well as walk by the Mediterranean = explore the gardens of the hotel and the museum next door

Had a great day today visiting cappadoccia = the area which is volcanic tuff and some places have an overlay of granite and over time the tuff has eroded but areas under a cap of granite have not leaving what they call fairychimneysOur guide tells us that this is the only place in the universe where this has happened but we have seen the same thing outside Calgary in Canada = the hootoosPeople here have hollowed out the soft tuff to make homes and churches and entire cities in this rock and they are unbelievableThe place looks like a moonscape in places In places we were crawling along really small tunnels in the underground cityIt was a lot of funWe have done a lot of souvenir today which we are happy about = good to have many of the things we want so early and not having to panic at the endWe are off to see some belly dancing in a cave in 30 minsToday we had very little bus driving which has been good = we are over bus trips for the timebeingI was behind two elderly people Dan and Ethel in a cave the other dayWe are looking at this 10000 year old timber structure = the oldest known timber structure in the world = and Ethel saysWhat are we looking at hereDan saysI have absolutely no idea EthelThis was after the tourguide had given us a 3 hour lecture on what we were going to seeI wizened them up but I dont think that they took it inI have decided that the romans are a subset of homo sapiens who are in drastic need of some genetic modifications = and the sooner the betterThe local Turks are very friendly = they wave form the streets and the hawkers do not get aggressive if you do not buy their goodsWe have given away all of our 12 koala bears and the Turks love ot receive themWe visited a carpet factory today and saw the finest handmade carpets being made = incredible fine work Some small silk on silk carpets were being sold at 11000US

Went to a cave theatre restaurant last night to see some folk dancing and belly dancingHad a ballThis cave has been hollowed out from solid rock = it has five tiered seating sections all facing the dance floor and the tables and benches are all solid rock=they do provide cushionsThe dancers had us all up and dancing and trying to teach us a couple of steps of a 4000 year old danceLater start today as some of the group are having balloon flights over the rock formations here = at 300A each we passed on that adn it was a very early start for the balloonists

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Recent Messages

From FrancesDear Michael & Izabela,Come on Izabela, only 4000 shops, you could do those standing on your head! Look forward to viewing your photos when we next head south. Weather is magnificent here in the lucky country.Love always,The Gilmour's

Response: Hi Frances

On holidays I like to relax and look at scenery and maybe buy the od thing but it is Michael who turns into a shopoholic. Our baggage is way over the weight limit but they allowed us through. We both took photos Michael used up all the memory cards and my spare as well.

Love

Izabela and Michael

From FrancesDear Michael and Izabela,The weekend news showed water spouts that had formed just off the coast of Antalya. People sitting on the beach watching the phenomenon -not at all concerned. Looked for you but couldn't find you sunbaking on the rocks!Love the Gilmour's

Response: Hi FrancesWe had great weather in AntalyaOnly have had a tiny bit of rain in the whole tripHave not seen the blue sky since leaving home - smog and smoke haze is everywhere - there is a huge pollution problem in Europe and smoke in Singapore is incredibleHome on Friday on the redeyeWill callThanks for the messageLove Michael and Izabela

From bobmike, Is it possible to bring back a pebble from gallipoli for me. cheers and stay safe

Response: Hi BobWe have one for youGallipoli was amazingCemetries all over the place and we expected to only see oneSee you on MondayMichaela and Izabela

From Tahana and SimonHi Dad and Izabela Sounds like you are having a great time! Gallipoli will be amazing I'm sure - I'd love to go there. All well here, you will be coming back to hot days and some high winds at the moment I'm afraid! Nadine and I are meeting up with Jodie Collins on Sunday for breakfast - will be nice to see her, it's been a long while. Speak soon. love T & S.

Response: Hi snookIn Singapore and jet lagged and tiredSmoke haze here is to be seen to be believedHome Friday on the redeyeWill call you thenLove Dad and Izabela

From FrancesWitam Michael & Izabela,Sounds as though you are having a ball in Turkey. Perhaps the Antalya potter has watched the movie 'Ghost' too many times! Do widzenia, Frances & family(another smart arse in the family)

Response: Hi Francesthanks for the messagealways good to know someone is reading the logwe dont understand any turkish so we have trouble with your turkishof to gallipoli tomorrow which we are looking forward tooff to singapore on sundaystay tunedlove michael and izabela

From Sue & RobynYour trip sounds fantastic. It is great to read about your adventures. we can easily tell when Michael is writing and have had many chuckles. We are just about to go out to dinner. Look forward to reading the next installment. take care

Response: Hi sue and robynthanks for the messagealways good to hear form homehaving a great timelooking forward to a good monday night meal with you guys the turkeys tend to serve their food luke warm which is not always goodstay tunedmichael and izabela

From LinReally enjoying reading about your adventures. Getting some very vivid pictures in my mind & looking forward to seeing your photos. I think you might need a holiday to relax some more after this holiday!!Keep on having fun!Love Lin

Response: Hi LinGreat to hear from you now I know that at least someone is reading about our adventures Dont work too hard see you at the end of the monthstay tunedIzabela and Michael

From MaggieHave been catching up on your travels and although our suitcases are barely unpacked, you've inspired us to see Greece and Turkey. Will give Rome a miss - we had enough of unpalatable food in the US. And who needs an electronic Papal blessing anyway? See if Mike can take a chance on downloading a photo or two. The papal blessing or the Whirling dervishes might ward off any virus. Anyway, keep having a wonderful time and try not to think about Monday 15 October when some of the mere mortals return to work.

Response: Hi Maggie

Good to hear from you Greece has better food and at least they serve it hot Turkey is fun however with lots to see We will not risk uploading any photos as the Net here is very unreliable

Stay tuned

Izabela and Michael

From Carmel and SandraHad the joy of reading this together as Carmel is visiting. We can both relate to Dan and Ethel on a daily basis. Poor darlings both having a senior moment. Found it amusing this week to find getaway the t.v. show covering Rome and Catriona the host of the show saying what a beautiful romantic place it was, but we now know that is BULLSHIT and wait till we see her mother as we work with her mother Heather at Gowrie.Hope the holiday continues to improve and will log on next Saturday.Arrivederci Darlings hahaha

Response: Hi guysDan and Ethel kep us amused = Dan looks like a book keeper from the 1950s= he marks his place on the bus each day with his hatIn Antalya for two nights now which gives us a break from the daily bus tripHave picked up too many souvenirs = now we have to carry them homeThanks for the messageTake careLove Michael and Izabela

From FrancesDear Michael & Izabela,My generalisation of Turks is that they are a short (in height) but solid people - might account for squat toilets - having a better core stability than our lean Aussie six footers. Turkey does sound interesting.Take care,Love Frances

Response: hi frances many turks are shorter than us and to see a tall thin one is unusual = lots of military in turkey and they are vry powerful politically = we see military bases everywhere heavily guarded by soldiers packing automatic weapons = the toilets are a worry when the bus sstops most people waint for the first person to go in and report western or squat = squat means lots of people hold on take care michael and izabela

Response: hi amber thanks for the message the romans = italians in rome that you have contact with as tourists are a sorry bunch = you wouldnt feed them = go to greece instead = clean and organised and nice people how is that study going take care michael and izabela

From TahanaHi Dad and Izabela, Sorry, I missed your call the other night. Was waiting to hear from you lastnight but you are probably having too much fun! Call or text when you get a chance. Hope Turkey is good fun! All is well here, keeping busy. Love Tahana

Response: hi snook it is not easy to get to a phone at a time that would suit all of us we are on the road from 7 to 6 and then we dont always have a phone which we can ring aust from the phone lines when we have got through are very bad had a short caht to nadine the other night when i tried to ring you i have picked up a bit of ahead cold but we have a bagfull of medicine with us Turkish doner kebabs are terrible nothing like those at home turkish baklava is good and we have finally found some good coffee in turkey greeks and italians have n o idea about coffee take care love dad

From SandraMerhaba,This is excellent, I have spent Sunday morning reading all about your adventures, lifestyles of the rich and famous ( we're not jealous). All is well mum is great I will print this for her, Dylan has a new knee, I think I need the angels.Sevgi and Baris alwaysHoscakal for now

Response: sandra and family where did you learn turkish you are doing better than us did dylan have a knee reconstruction tukish food is better at home than here the food in greece has been the best so far by a long way we are spending many hours in the bus but we are seeing some great things from 10000 years of civilisation take care michael and izabela

From carmel and gregfound out you had a web site and couldnt wait to log on, hahah dont even know how to turn a computer on.Jade is actually writing this message.Loved reading everything you've done and are so pleased you're having a great time.Will continue to read up dates every saturday morning.Be safe luv the hooper clan.

Response: Hi Carmel and family. Great to hear from you. I forgot to take the home addresses with me this time so I have not been sending postcards. The phone system has not been working well either - our Telstra crd does not seem to be working. How is mum? We have a nice mounted photo of a couple of angels for her - it was blessed by the pope. Stay in touch through this planetranger. Tell Sandra about it - Ben can get her on the computer. Love Michael.

From Dane GilmourUncle Michael and Izabela,

Great webpage! Will be after travelling ideas if all goes well and I end up teaching in the UK next year. If you happen to walk past any international schools on your travels, see if they have any vacancies going for a Phys Ed teacher or 2. ThanksDane

Response: Hi Dane and Tamara. Great to receive your message - thanks. This planetranger is a good program to get to know. We have had trouble with our Telstra card and the mobile is very expensive to use. We heard that you are off to the UK again for another year - sounds exciting. In Athens here there is a local school which appears to have a full synthetic athletic track, a pool, tennis/basketball courts and it is just up the road from the Olympic stadium which they could probably use. Need to speak Greek though, but will keep an eye out. We will check out Turkey for you guys. Take care. Love Michael and Izabela

From Frances (MC's sisterDear Michael & Izabela,The diary is a great idea - it sounds safer in Casino where we only have to worry about hitting bulls on the road. Speaking of bulls - are you planning on visiting Palermo? Tahana rang and asked for the negatives of Lord Colin's photos as they were so good!

Take care,The Gilmour's

From Frances (MC's sisterHi Michael & Izabela,Love the diary - makes me feel safe in Casino where we only have to worry about hitting bulls on the road. Speaking of bulls - are you going to Palermo, or have you missed the event? Tahana rang asking for the wedding negatives of Lord Colin's photos - he did a good job. Take care.Love The Gilmour's

Response: Hi FranRome is good - would be great if all of the Italians left. Weather is hot and humid, which is unseasonal. Coffee is cheaper if you stand at the bar, sit down and it costs twice as much. You must be on hols now - take it easy, have a good break.

From Frances (MC's sisterHi Michael & Izabela,Diary is a great idea - making me want to stay in safe Casino where the only risk of accident is running into a bull on road. Talking of bulls are you going to Palermo for the running of the bulls, or have you missed the event?

Response: Hi Frances and family. I replied to your message a few days ago now, but it appears as though it did not go through. It was sent from italy, and nothing works in italy - especially the italians in rome. Thanks for sending a message - stay in touch through this planetranger. Dane has sent us a message. Take care. Love Michael

From Hi Iazabela and Michael,This is great. You are doing a fabulous job of providing all the right details so that I feel like I'm almost there with you. Looking forward to your next entry.Nothing new in Edmonton - my mom is better. We're off to celebrate her birthday tonight. Dad is well and complaining that he doesn't get as much attention on his birthday.

loveDiane

Response: Poland is very beautiful though the people could smile a bit more.

From TahanaHi Dad and Iza, I posted a message yesterday but you don't seem to have got it for some reason. Have got back from honeymoon OK, was good fun and very Kames Bond-like with BMW's and helicopter flights! Now need a holiday to get over it all! The Webbs leave tomorrow which is the last of the guests so all the wedding hurrah is at an end now. Glad you are enjoying yourself. Bushfire season began today here - fires in Sydney, Cattai and Redhead. Temps over 35 degrees and 50 knot winds. Was madness considering we were freezing 2 weeks ago! Call or text when you get a chance. Bye.Love TC

Response: hi snookdid you see my reply jto your message of 23/9?We are now in Krakow but access to internet has not been easy. Have just found this internet cafe in a back alley in Krakow - looks sus from outside but is OK. love dad

From NadineHi Dad and Iza, sounds like your both enjoying yourself. stay safe and enjoy. No news here from Sydney, same shit, different day here, like always, locking up heaps of crooks..just keeping the streets safe as always. Look fwd to hearing more of your adventures. Love Nadine

Response: hi snooksounds like the wild west back ther in sydney town. we wandered around warsaw today and tour has started. you take care and check this site regularly. love dad

From TahanaHi Dad and Izabela! Hope all is well, you should be in Warsaw now and I hope it isn't too cold there for you! It's over 31 degrees here and boiling hot! Got back from honeymoon safely - had a great time and now need another week off to relax properly but are back to work on Tuesday. Hear from you soon. Love TC

Response: hi guysin poland, very friendly place so far. Snook - remind nadine to check this site. Sounds like you 2 had a great time on the honeymoon. Everyone had wonderful time at wedding - it was really great!! Take your time to come back down to daily reality. Love dad.

From lizHi Sounds good so far. love liz

Response: Great to hear from you.

From Robyn & MikeWe've checked your progress already but no news yet! Too soon I agree. Hope you are having a fabulous time in Singapore and that the flight was uneventful.1pm EAT E2.16

Response: Give us a break. The first instalement in now posted.

From Sue EbelingHope you have a great trip. Look forward to reading about your adventures. remember there will be plenty of shops so you canalways buy another top and another suitcase to fit everything into. Just don't overspend the credit card so you can pay the excess baggage. Have lots of funSue

Response: Thanks Sue. Hope you managed that ride. I will hear all about it from Michael.